A Swing And A Miss
I wanted to love this drama so much. It has so much going for it. How can you really go wrong with a cute fantasy romcom full of tropey forced cohabitation goodness? And on top of that, throw in two talented and capable lead actors--Jang Ki Yong & Hyeri--who have proven their chops in multiple other projects. I was expecting something a little light-hearted, with lots of skinship, misunderstandings and pining, and to an extent, all of that was there.So why did this drama feel so utterly empty and forgettable? What was missing?
I'll tell you: proper characterization. This show totally failed to create two lead characters who the viewer could both empathize with and fall in love with. We have to really care about who they are, what their desires are, the struggles they're facing. And if the lead couple lacks fiery chemistry, they at least need to have a well-written buildup for their feelings for one another. These two had neither chemistry nor well-written buildup. Not even a smidge. I found myself wanting to skip through their scenes, which is unacceptable for this genre. Gumiho Shin Woo Yeo is beautiful, refined and cold...and boring. We get nothing from him. He is essentially flawless--and perfect characters don't hold your attention for long. He yearns to be human, but why does this character want to be human so bad? He has no relationships with the people around him. He has no drive or ambition besides finally becoming human, and it's not addressed why he even desires that. He extracts no pleasure from living in the human world, experiencing human pleasures or being around other humans. So what is the audience even rooting for?
Lee Dam, the human college student he falls for, is immature, totally out of touch with herself, and childish to the extreme. She is nothing special--the Every Woman Character. She feels more like a cardboard cutout than a person because the script doesn't adjust to her character. Rather, the character adjusts to the script's needs. She always reacts too much or too little. You can never pin down what kind of person the writers want her to be. The writing fails this character in a myriad of ways, and it's exhausting. Thus, Lee Dam comes off extremely inconsistent: sometimes she finds herself in upsetting situations with her peers and she shows real wisdom for her age. Just as often, she comes off as a loud obnoxious teen with no self-awareness. It's impossible that this 999-year old mythical creature could fall for this annoying human child without any growth, right? RIGHT?
Wrong. Of course he falls for her, out of nowhere. By episode 6, we are already embroiled in their romantic feelings coming to light. This kind of relationship deserves a far slower burn, especially in the context of all these flaws. But those 6 episodes feel like eons. Truly, it was an effort to get through them. This episode is also when the villain seems to be introduced (some sort of serial killer gumiho I think, but didn't really care enough to find out). It is baffling to watch, as a viewer, because I don't really want to spend time with them, so why do they want to spend time with each other? They don't have great chemistry, which is forgivable with the right script. I asked myself, do I even want to see them in each other's arms? And I realized I don't really care either way. So the show, for me, is dead in the water.
The arcs occurring within the secondary characters feel more fleshed out than in the leads. Narratively, there is no recovery for a start like this, and I'll be abandoning it at 6 episodes. I'm sad because Jang Ki Yong and Hyeri's talents are wasted here, and they are really doing their best, but it's simply not enough to save a script that reads like a first draft.
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This review may contain spoilers
A crowd pleaser romcom
There’s nothing particularly new or original about MRIAG, but where it thrives is on the chemistry of its two leads and bending some of the usual Kdrama tropes on its head. What I really enjoyed was the female lead who was confident and believed in herself and a male lead, though reserved wasn’t a jerk or purposely mean. All the typical misunderstandings were cleared up because the couple had good communication and built in trust. The show also features a wonderful second couple, who are both just cute, innocent and adorable. The whole cast had great chemistry.The only thing I didn’t like was the pacing from ep 10-16. There were a lot of scenes that dragged and some story choices were too obvious. The whole arc around the second male lead was also overdone and could have been concluded sooner It’d be tough for me to ever rewatch the whole thing, but it’s still worth watching once, just to see Jang Ki-Yong’s smile.
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a cute, light-hearted kdrama 7.8/10!!
Story: I read the webtoon and absolutely adored it so i decided to give the drama a watch, and it was pretty good. They adds a back story for Mr.Gumiho and i think that's nice! The Cast really brings to life my favorite webtoon.I'm at ep. 9, I dont know why they added the Murder + Supernatural shit,... and it's getting boring for me. The pacing at the first is pretty good, because it's fast paced compared with the webtoon, but i always have to skip the cheesy romance scenes with lengthy dialogues, mostly about Mr. Gumiho's [lack of]-feelings thingy, or scenes where Female Lead mindlessly, sadly walk alone on the street... Or scenes where the Main Leads just stares at each other (like i get that they tried to be expressive, but i guess they can cut them out so those scenes can be shorter, and less boring! :D)
Cast/Acting:
Lee Dam/Lee Hyeri: I read a article on kenh14 (our Vietnamese tabloid) criticizing Lee Hyeri's acting and ughhhhh, she slayed and saved this show!! Lee Dam here is so cute! Both drama Dam and webtoon Dam is funny, but the drama Dam is more lively and relatable (look at her eating scenes >w<, an authentic representation of Gen Z), while webtoon Dam gives off a cold girl vibe (or is it bc the art haha) who has a great sense of humor
The Male Lead: I thought his smiles are a little stiff and awkward in romance scenes (e.g. The stair scene with Dam, while he says "i think of you as my niece") I watched their interview, and yeahhh, loll, his natural laugh is different from the drama's (like natural smiles tend to be cotagious) ... He definitly has more room to improve his acting ^^ , Fighting Male Lead ssi.
The Second Leads (Jae Jin and the Gumiho Woman): They're adorable, Hye Sun is such a fun character which ive never seen before. Han Na defly kills this role since i don't care much about her character in the webtoon, but here she managed to portrait a weird, reluctant but beautiful friendship with Mr.Gumiho ( i still dont remember the names). Jae Jin the character is sweet too!
The romance/The chemistry (Main Leads): it was okay, and nice i guess... 7.8/10 <3 Havent felt that much butterfly in my stomach tho
The friendship: I adore the trio * * while I think Soo Kyung character should have more screen time cuz she's so cutee and hilarious
Music + Fashion + Filming Set:
Their house + the scenes + The furniture is too nice i love itttt! Beautiful scenery. The fashion is pretty great, esp. Hye Sun's! I'm a little disappointed in Dam's outfits tho haha (like it's okay— just common college students fit)
Might drop this even though the past 9 eps i watched were worth the time!!
PS: Đang xem thấy chị nào xinh đẹp quá ra là Jung So Min nhà mìnhhhh
cameo thui mà diễn hay hết sức
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THERE IS ALWAYS SOME MADNESS IN LOVE.
A perfect rom-com with sweet and bitter moments . The Smile of Lee Hyeri with every episode was so loving and the way she played the character of Lee Dam the every emotions were seem to be well portrayed. The supporting cast was so cool.The humor with every episode was just other level and they will always keep you busy. And the essence this drama contains seems to be realistic.
Jang Ki Yong has done really well in this drama that make me more excited for his upcoming drama 'Now We Are Breaking Up'.
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Love it
This drama is amazing from episode 1 till now and waiting for episode 13. From the beginning the scenes gives you such a weird feelings what the story is all about, And how did that happen and who is that evil spirit that wandering around. Every episode is trilling and have a lots of skinship and sweetness ofcourse. To the point that you will shout out loud because of their chemistry. And this hye ri's drama is my favorite. Their chemistry is good, please let them be together till the ending. Hyeri is doing great, she's my bias in Girls day. And hope to see her in another project together with Mr. Gumiho hihihiWas this review helpful to you?
This show deserves to be in the top 10
This show is everything I hoped it would be after reading the webtoon.The casting is absolutely spot-on. The main female lead needed someone who was dynamic and fun, someone who wouldn't take themselves too seriously and could experiment and play with the expressions and mannerisms of the character.
The main male lead needed someone who could be frightening yet meek and vulnerable at the same time.
Whoever cast this show knew what they were doing and what the script needed to bring the main unique characteristics out of the characters.
I tend to be picky with the small details of production quality and if this isn't done well it hinders the overall viewing experience. I haven't found a fault in this category so far - each character had a phone model/phone case design that stayed consistent, they each have a look/style that doesn't suddenly change halfway through, the sound quality was better than most and definitely done by experienced staff, and the set designs were believable and fit each scene and character.
I loved the hints of the webtoon origin through fun, entertaining sound effects and visual additions. The sponsored products were added in without contrasting with the personality of the characters using it, although not completely smoothly hidden throughout so that it goes unnoticed as a sponsored product (which is generally difficult to accomplish).
Overall, every new episode is the highlight of my week and I cant wait to see the rest!
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K Drama worth watching!
Hey drama lovers out there!The last couple years there have only been a few Korean dramas that I have enjoyed watching.
Don't know if the problem lies with me or if Korean Drama land just lost some of its appeal (to me at least)...
This is not an actual review...just my feels towards this drama.
I'm an Hyeri Fan...I just love her...so I was really looking forward to this, even though I hadn't read the webtoon.
It's just my kind of drama...I went in ..no expectations.
SO YEAH...
I was totally blown away from ep 1...and it just kept getting better...every character...their growth, the plot, the backdrop, everything was so good...it really was a pleasure watching this... all the Cameos... had me in stitches...
I HOPE everyone enjoys this as much as I did!
Take care and happy drama watching!
XOXO
Uni
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Please give us a sequel!!
I just finished the last episode 10 minutes ago and I'm so happy with the ending. After the emotional rollercoaster the past two episodes took me on, the finale did not disappoint!One thing though–I'm obsessed with the side couples. Badly. So badly that I NEED a sequel where we get some more character development for them. I'm specifically talking about one side couple that was introduced in the last episode (I dare not spoil) but I BET I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE FEELING THIS WAY.
Anyway, if you're on the fence about watching this and you love jang ki yong and hyeri as much as I do... WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??? Watch it! I did and I have no regrets.
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Solid, Cute KDrama
So now that I've seen Doom At Your Service I realize that show reminds me of this show in that they both have a fantasy element, an innocent girl who gets wrapped up with said fantasy element and that both men are very cold and stoic... until they're not.The only difference for me is that by episode seven of Doom I desperately wanted to quit watching as I felt no chemistry between them despite my love for the actress. And there wasn't enough charisma or charm coming from the male lead alone to really keep my interest.
I'm not sure I'd re-watch this, but it was a solid little love story for me.
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What a great show
I'm glad I took the time to watch this. It's a great show. The acting was great, the story was good and very interesting. A lot of different twists and turns but it kept me interested from start to finish. there was also some really cute and funny moments in the show. I'm glad that there was a happy ending to the show. Most shows don't or maybe it's just the ones I watch lol. But that's all I will give away because I do believe it's worth watching. I can understand why this show has a 8.3 MDL rating.Was this review helpful to you?
cute rom com drama
This kdrama ine of my favourites when it comes to rom com with a fantasy element.it's cute, funny, romantic and the story is very well written. I like the characters, their interactions and development (and not just tje main characters but the supporting as well) and most of all I love Heyri as Lee Dam - such an adorable FL. So realistic, true to herself and funny.
The ML is also well portrayed. I love Jang Ki Yong in general so I'm kind of biased but I think his portrayal of a mythical creatute was more then good.
OST is also likeable.
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LOVED IT...
definitely worth watching . the chemistry that was between the actors is just so mind=blowing . the story is not new , we already saw dramas with such plots but this one here is special in its own way . one thing i would say that wasn't my cup of tea is the last ep , half the episode dam spent it crying , the last ep felt rushed to me but overall i highly recommend this lovely drama . i was hooked from the first ep till the last . since i'm a college student myself , i do not mind finding a gumiho of my own lolWas this review helpful to you?
